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Dillon Bradigan
NOTE: This page is not free to edit. Characters are solely owned by ScottyBlue (dA name Ascotia-Bluefleck. Also, Spoilers below.) '''Dillon Michael Bradigan '''was the son of an Irish bobby (policeman). His mother was very proud to be married to a policeman, and Dillon was brought up to follow in his father's footsteps. His father was called up to fight in World War I and was subsequently killed, and his mother passed way two years later from grief. As an orphaned teen, he supported himself by becoming a live-in servant/caretaker for an elderly priest, doing odd jobs around the house and gardens. Dillon attended church services whenever he had the chance, since he respected the older man highly. After Father Aherne also passed away, Dillon was for all intents and purposes alone in the world and tried to move on with his life, though in moments of temptation he might occasionally have a twinge of conscience thinking of Father Aherne or his parents. Dillon, while well-meaning and optimistic, had little in the way of guidance but still kept his dream, entering training to be a bobby at age 17. He made some slightly questionable friends, and started drinking occasionally, but never was on duty in any state other than sober, wanting to be a good policeman like his father. In his 20s, he fell head over heels for a beautiful young woman named Mairead O'Brien. Dillon was completely besotted by her, and proposed to her, planning out a whole future for them and thinking he had finally found a way to settle down. However, his whole world came collapsing on top of his head when several weeks later he walked in on Mairead and another man kissing, and discovered that not only had she been cheating on him, but had stolen money from him as well. When he confronted her, she only laughed at him, and continued to do so even after he had her arrested and prosecuted. He was ridiculed by his fellow policemen over the incident, as well. Humiliated, angry, and heartbroken at the deception - and the fact he had been fool enough to fall for it - Dillon found himself unable to bear living in Dunmore any longer and emigrated to the United States, wanting to start afresh and forget what had happened. However, upon arriving in New York, with no friends, he felt just as lost and heartbroken as ever. Despite Prohibition, he continued to drink, somewhat more than before but still avoiding becoming completely slobbering drunk. He did odd jobs to get by, drifting southward via bus and train, and not really feeling he belonged anywhere. Dillon came across Frankie Hill about a two years later, in Richmond, Virginia. The young detective had been recently hired by Ned Black's detective agency and was in the middle of tailing a suspect who had fled from Raleigh, when he literally bumped into Dillon with his rental car. Dillon wasn't hurt save a couple bruises. Frankie, horrified by the accident, offered to buy Dillon dinner to make up for having nearly run him down, and Dillon, glad of a friendly person to talk to, accepted. In the course of conversation, Frankie found out that Dillon was an orphan and a former policeman, both of which things were true of him as well. He also learned of the reason Dillon left Ireland. Knowing that Ned was hiring to replace a recently fired operative, Frankie suggested Dillon apply for the job. Dillon decided it couldn't hurt to come back to North Carolina with Frankie, having nothing better to do, though he didn't expect to be hired. He got the job, and was so surprised he vowed to shape up and be as good at it as he could, so he wouldn't let down Ned or Frankie for being kind to him. He soon became something close to his former happy self, but he had matured a good deal this time. Over the years, Frankie and Dillon worked as partners on many cases and Dillon proved his worth as an excellent detective. Frankie and Dillon became very close friends, so much so that Frankie actually was able to convince Dillon to stop drinking, a habit he'd entertained since he was 16. Dillon also nursed Frankie back to health when the latter was poisoned, which he lived through but which left him with ulcers that he had to take medicine for ever afterwards. Furthermore, Dillon and Frankie each saved each other's life on more than one occasion when their jobs took them to dangerous places. They even learned to mock each others voices so accurately that you couldn't tell which was speaking if you couldn't see their faces. They were so close that Dillon thought of Frankie as the brother he never had. When Ned Black had to lay off many of his operatives when the Great Depression became too much for the agency, he still kept Dillon and Frankie, knowing they were a valuable team. When Frankie disappeared one day, Dillon was frantic with worry. However, some days later, he received a call from Frankie, who was in the middle of a very dangerous case and needed help. Dillon agreed to pick up Frankie's sister Ruthanne Hill and meet Frankie in a secret place to exchange information. Dillon was ecstatic to meet Ruthanne, for Frankie had corresponded with her almost daily and had talked about her many times to Dillon. However, he was disappointed to meet a sulky, singularly unattractive girl with a chip on her shoulder from having been bullied, and who took an almost instantaneous dislike to him for being 'too happy'. However, Dillon trusted Frankie's judgement of Ruthanne's inner goodness and tried his level best to be patient and kind to her, as Frankie had been to him. Ruthanne and Dillon went to meet Frankie, but he was shot and fell into a river before he ever reached them. Absolutely devastated at the loss of his dearest and really only close friend, Dillon vowed to find out who had killed him. Unfortunately, he had to contend with Ruthanne, who vowed the same thing and did not want his help, wanting him left out of it so he wouldn't 'bother' her. He eventually got her to admit she was being unfair, and they agreed to try to work together. However, their grief made them both short-tempered and they argued incessantly, Dillon unable to understand why he could try to be as nice as he knew how and always get his head bitten off, and Ruthanne unable to understand why Dillon couldn't just let her grieve in peace. Finally, when they had exhausted things to argue about, they followed the only clue Frankie had left them - a letter telling them to 'Go to the empty house' - and went back to Frankie's old birthplace, now deserted. After a lengthy investigation, not just of the premises but of several people as well ranging from South Carolina to Tennessee, they found enough clues to piece together the solution of a 17-year-old case which Frankie had been trying in secret to solve. He had a feeling that the man who had been hanged for it, Ross DeAndrea, was framed. However, the murderer, who had thought he had gotten away with the perfect crime, had attacked Frankie (first by poison, then other methods before the shooting) for getting too close to the truth after all these years. Ruthanne discovered the identity of this man, but it was Dillon who found the last proofs to clench the matter. Dillon tried to stop her confronting the man, but when he found she was adamant, promised her he would not interfere unless she asked him to, so long as he could be there as a witness. Ruthanne gave in and the two created a master plan along with the help of a local sherrif. As predicted, he did confess but at the same time tried to kill Ruthanne. Dillon came in from behind to stop him, using his trick of mocking Frankie's voice to frighten the mentally unstable man, but then was horrified when the ghost of Frankie came in at the same time. Ruthanne and the murderer also were terrified, and the murderer surrendered without a fight. As it turned out, the unkempt and unshaven 'ghost' of Frankie was indeed Frankie, who had never died in the first place. His letter was not supposed to get them in on the investigation; it had been intended to tell Ruthanne and Dillon he was okay - "The Empty House" was a reference to a Sherlock Holmes story in which Holmes fakes his death to protect Watson. Dillon was initially furious that Frankie hadn't told them he was still alive, but when Frankie explained that he had tried to do so, Dillon relented, and allowed himself to happily weep that his best friend was alive again. The trio returned to Raliegh, where Ruthanne was hired as the agency's first female operative, and they worked together on many cases. Dillon eventually admitted to himself that he had fallen in love with Ruthanne - he had known for a long time, even before Frankie's 'resurrection', but didn't trust himself with love after what happened with Mairead. Some years later, they finally were married, and had a daughter, whom they named Frances. When Ned retired, he left the agency jointly to Dillon, Ruthanne, and Frankie, who ran it for many decades to come. Dillon was called up to fight in the second World War, but never saw actual combat, as the war ended before his training was completed. Category:In Memory of Frankie Hill Characters